Queer Events, Relationships, and Sports: Does Topic Influence Speakers’ Acoustic Expression of Sexual Orientation?

Studies on the acoustic parameterization of actual and perceived sexual orientation yielded inconclusive findings. One reason for this could be different linguistic and situational factors underlying these studies. In the present research, we aim to illuminate inconsistent findings by systematically varying the way sexual orientation was made salient in interview topics: Lesbian/gay and straight women and men (n = 72) were asked to answer questions referring to lesbian/gay issues, to their own sexual orientation, and to a non-sexual orientation topic. Applying a person perceptions approach that provides a holistic measure for phonetic variation across topics, raters (n = 35) were asked to judge speakers' sexual orientations. Overall, straight speakers were rated as straighter than lesbian/gay speakers. Contrary to expectations, this difference was largest in the control condition. Results are discussed in terms of the same topic having differential effects on different speaker groups.